English school of the mid-twentieth century.

English school of the mid-twentieth century.
After ALFRED MUNNINGS (England, 1878-1959).
"Preparation for the jumping race".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 42 x 62 cm; 52 x 72 cm (frame).

The painting follows models by the British painter Alfred Munnings, known for his equestrian artwork. This painting captures the essence of the Cheltenham racing paddock. Cheltenham racing is the home of National Hunt (jumps) racing in the United Kingdom. The painting on which it is based, "The Saddling Paddock, Cheltenham March Meeting" (ca. 1947) by Sir Alfred Munnings, is in a private collection. It shows horses, riders, trainers and attendants in a setting of rolling green hills.

Sir Alfred James Munnings is known to have been one of England's finest horse painters and an outspoken critic of modernism. Hired by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorial Fund after the Great War, he obtained several prestigious commissions that made him wealthy. Between 1912 and 1914 he was a member of the Newlyn School of artists. His work was part of the Olympic art competitions held in 1928, 1932 and 1948. Munnings was president of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1944 to 1949, when he was succeeded by Sir Gerald Kelly.